Time indicating labels may be used in food manufacturing industries to identify food freshness. It has long been known to manufacturers and distributors that the shelf life of perishable goods such as foodstuffs is a function of both the time and the temperature at which such goods are stored. Most perishable items purchased in a home or restaurant is stored in the refrigerator to maintain freshness. However, although most manufacturers do have a date of expiration on the food items, often this date is many times longer than the average household would like to keep the item in the refrigerator. That is, freshness of an item is not only a function of when preservatives in a product become ineffective but is also a function of the conditions in which the items are stored, and the length of time the product has been opened.
For example, an item that expires 1 year from a given date but is opened shortly after being produced would not be as fresh as the same item opened months after being produced. As stated above, manufactures often print expiration dates on products but often these dates get smeared, rubbed off or are illegible. In addition, the date of manufacturing is only half the information necessary to determine if a product in the refrigerator is fresh or not. The other piece of information that is needed is when the item was purchased, opened or placed in the refrigerator. The greater the time gap between the time the item is opened and the expiration date of the item, the less fresh the item may be. Thus, often items need to be replaced way before the manufactures expiration date of the product. For example, Items such as ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, salad dressings and the like are not used everyday and can remain in refrigerator for months after opening but still not be out of date. Placing a label printed with the date the item was opened/or placed in the refrigerator would provide additional information to determine freshness of that item.
Although markers can be used for this purpose, they often rub off of the item, look messy and are not usually readably available when needed. Rolls of stickers can be placed near or on the refrigerator but these stickers would have to written on, peeled from their backing and placed on the item. Assuming that the labels can be found when needed, this is often a time consuming process and looks no better than using a marker. Finding a writing utensil when needed is usually also a problem. Thus, this system is no better than using a marker.
Accordingly, there is a need for a one-touch refrigerator labeling system that prints date labels, peels the labels from its backing material and dispenses the ready to be used printed label to the user in a matter of seconds. The present invention herein overcomes the shortcomings of the devices available on the market today and satisfies this market need. The present invention is further described in the sections below.